Characterizing Older Adults’ Involvement in Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) Supportive Service Programs

Abstract

Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) Supportive Service Programs constitute one of the longest-standing models for age-friendly community initiatives. As a support-focused model, NORC programs typically offer a range of benefits—including direct services, group activities, and broader community development activities—that are intended to engage older adults with diverse needs, preferences, and interests. Moreover, NORC programs are designed to be used according to the needs of the particular participant engaging with them at a particular point in time. This range and flexibility of benefits indicate the importance of more systematically characterizing the ways in which older adults are involved with NORC programs. For this purpose, we used data from in-depth interviews with 35 residents across 6 NORC programs in New York City. Qualitative analysis revealed 6 ordered categories of involvement: (a) consciously no involvement; (b) involved, but not consciously; (c) relationship with staff only; (d) selectively involved with a strong sense of security; (e) NORC program leaders; and (f) dependence on the NORC program. Overall, results indicate how older adults’ involvement in NORC programs can be characterized beyond their utilization of specific types of services and by their relationship with the program as a whole. Findings suggest the importance for outcomes research on NORC programs and related models to consider subgroup differences by involvement. Results also provide directions for theory development on engagement in voluntary programs, as well as for practice to enhance older adults’ involvement in supportive service programs.